Alex Ferguson’s £3m wine collection to go on sale

Legendary former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is to auction off partof his wine collection worth an estimated £3 million ($5 million, 3.6 million euros),Christie's announced on Wednesday.The collection of around 5,000 bottles contains many fine and rare wines includingDomaine de la Romanee-Conti Burgundies and Finest First Growth Bordeaux rangingfrom the 1986 to 2011 vintages.Domaine de la Romanee-Conti is currently hot property, according to Christie's."It's the wine of the moment in terms of demand," said David Elswood. "So hopefullythat's going to draw the attention of not just Alex Ferguson fans but wine fans too."The collection of Britain's most succesful manager of all time will be sold in threeauctions: Hong Kong on May 24, London on June 5 and an online sale running fromJune 9 to 23.Alongside the wines, the London-based auction house will also be offering pieces ofsigned footballing memorabilia.Ferguson retired last year after guiding Manchester United through its mostsuccesful period, winning 2 European Cups, 12 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups, 4League Cups, the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Inter-ContinentalCup and the FIFA World Club Cup.The fiery Scot took up the hobby as a distraction from the pressures of managingone of the world's largest clubs, becoming a collector following a visit to France in1991."Taking an interest in wine allowed me to have an interest outside the game," he explained."You have to have outside interests to distract you from the intensity and thepressure you come under as a football manager."And all of a sudden, two or three years ago, when I'm going through the portfolio,we realise this has got to be an amazing amount of wine. I retired last year, and Ithought this was a good time to sell it." It became traditional throughout his career to offer opposing managers a glass ofone of his vintages, and he often received bottles in exchange.